Before you read any further, I would like to preface the following few entries by telling you this; this part of my trip is perhaps the most special to me out of all of my time in Korea, and the main reason why I planned a road trip around the country in the first place – to come and visit Namhae Island. I do not expect anyone to understand my reasoning or need to visit this place, but I do ask at the very least to try not to scoff or scorn as I try to explain it to you. And obviously, you are free and welcome to skip anything you don’t want to read.

Namhae Island sits at the base of the Korean peninsula, pretty much in the dead centre of the southern coastline. It is one of the larger islands in this area, connected to the mainland by bridge, and is a quiet, green, and restful place to be.

Earlier this spring, Namhae was also the filming location for two television programmes that I watched, two shows that made me want to desperately visit this place. The show that was the main driving force behind this desire was the Discovery Channel’s ‘ 잠적’ otherwise known as ‘Off the Grid’ and featured Doh Kyungsoo taking a self-reflective three day trip around the island. I watched this show originally in its native Korean, and between the cinematography and Kyungsoo’s ever comforting voice, the essence of the trip was beautifully conveyed. It really spoke to something inside me, something quiet and reassuring and yet at the same time questioning, and therefore I really wanted as much as possible to recreate the trip for myself; to see and hear and experience the same things that Kyungsoo had done, to see what their effects on me would be.    

It occurred to me slightly later somehow, possibly just after I had reached Korea (a bit of a mental defect there), that there was also a second reason to visit Namhae and that was because EXO had filmed their ‘Travel the Ladder’ road trip on the island that spring as well. Filled with fun and laughter, the show presented a completely different feeling to Kyungsoo’s journey, and so added another dimension to the island for me. 

So there you have it, Namhae was to be my destination.

A pilgrimage of sorts.

It was chosen because for the past two years, during an emotionally and mentally tumultuous time in my life when it felt like my whole world had shifted on its axis and I no longer had a firm grip on where I was going and what life had in store for me, there was a group of nine people who unknowingly supported me through that hard slog of working out just who I was as a person, who brought stability to my daily routine through voice and song, giving me the mental strength to pass through each day and to continue to have a goal to aim for. And it just so happens that these people to whom I am eternally grateful came to this island, and I would like to stand in the places where they have been and just feel a sense of connection, to complete my sense of happiness and thankfulness for having them in my life when I needed them.   

So there it is, my reason for this journey, and words really can’t convey the sheer level of excitement and joy in my heart at having finally reached this point in my trip.

The morning I set out on my drive (if you recall) started with tea, kimchi pancake, and a farewell to new friends; so I was already feeling in pretty good spirits to start. The sun was high in the sky and shining brightly and I was full of hope and happiness and relaxation as I set off.

I was fully determined that my week on Namhae was to feel like taking deep breaths of fresh air every day. That I had plans of specific things to see and if they worked out, fabulous, but if they didn’t, that was OK too. Just having one thing go right I would count as a win. No days on the island were to be rushed, everything would just go at its own pace.

Anyone who knows me well would agree that this philosophy sounds nothing like me at all. Usually everything I do is planned to a T. Plan after plan. Alongside that, I will admit I am pretty bad at reacting to things that don’t go well. Usually I immediately blame myself and then feel sad at having missed out on something.

However, my two months in Korea have been working some type of magic on me. It is the first time in the whole of my life that I have felt…at ease with myself. That I have no-one to answer to but myself. No-one to try and impress or fit in to some type of expectation. I don’t have to worry about disappointing anyone or feel any type of pressure. No-one here knows me. No-one here cares who I am or what I am doing. I am living in an almost perfect world of obscurity and anonymity. Being able to remove myself from conventional life for these three months has allowed me to discard everything mentally and emotionally that I would usually carry with me and focus on the most basic of tasks – waking up, doing ‘something’ with my day at whatever pace I choose, eating, being safe, and returning home to sleep. I have never before had such a simple life. I have never before laid down the internal worries I carry and lived such an uncomplicated existence. I have never before spent time in a place where I have simultaneously felt a daily sense of awe and discovery, and yet an equally deep feeling of comfort and familiarity. And while I know that this is a fleeting moment in my life and not something I can sustain and do forever, three months of this experience is changing the way I look at myself and my idea of how I want to continue to life. It is providing me with something incredibly powerful and healing. And here on Namhae, I am about to hit the pinnacle of that experience.  

My drive to the island today actually only totals an hour or so, but with three planned stops, I shall be eeking out my day until the 3pm check-in at my accommodation.

I choose my music selection for the drive carefully, pop on my sunnies, and enjoy a leisurely meander south.

My first stop is for trees. Specifically bamboo. There is a small and slightly random trail, the Seomjingang Bamboo Forest Trail, that appears to have no signposts to it, seemingly can only be accessed via a coffee shop rest area, and if you didn’t know to go there, you’d never even know it existed.

What I learned today about bamboo forests…they can be cold. Not just chilly mind, but cold. Slightly underprepared without my coat, but unwilling to walk the short journey back to the car, I suck it up and plunge along the path, shivering only a smidge now and then. And actually, I kind of like this. I can see the rays of sun as I peer through the trees, the promise of warmth, and every now and then come upon breaks in the forest where I can step out into the light and bask like a lizard to get warm and mobile, and then dip back into the chill again. In an odd way, it’s invigorating.

I come across a lovely scenic spot with a pretty swing and a bench, and decide to sit and close my eyes and absorb both the warmth and the quiet for a while.

I can literally feel my mind and body starting to loosen while I pause. The only thing that would make this better would be a nice hot drink, and I wish that I had grabbed one from the café on my way here. Well, nothing says I can’t have one now. Which is exactly what I go and do before hopping in the car and heading to my next location – Pyeongsari Park.

While not a small or unknown place by any stretch, there are plenty of people enjoying the park when I stop by today for a stroll, it is only via the power of Google, Instagram, Twitter and some on the ball EXO fans that I had discovered the name of this place and knew it to be one of the filming locations from ‘Off the Grid’. For those of you out there that have watched the show (and I am sure there are many (!)), the final closing scene is filmed here along the river.

And to be honest, when I catch my first glimpse of it, Pyeongsari Park does slightly take my breath away. For a start, even though I had seen this location on TV, somehow the fact that it is basically a sand flat somehow failed to make an impression on me; when I hear the term park, I really do think greenery – trees and grass.

And then there is just simply the scale of it, it is huge. Huge and most definitely beautiful.

I make my way down to the river, kick off my shoes, and wander slowly along the sand barefoot. The sun shines and the river sparkles – 반짝반짝. I feel the mixture of delight and excitement to be standing in this spot. The vision of Kyungsoo here is strong and clear in my mind. But I also unmistakably feel a different pleasure too, perhaps slightly unexpected, one of simply enjoying and marveling at such a beautiful sight in its own right, even without my personal association.

I sit for some time in the sand and try to empty my mind of thoughts. To simply sit and be still and watchful. And I feel happy. Joyful, I suppose would be more accurate. My heart is filled with joy right now. I am here. This is real. I had hoped I would see and experience this. Therefore this is the very essence of a dream come true. I have made something I have longed for a reality. And that is a wonderful feeling.

Back in the car I am floating on slightly euphoric high, warm and fuzzy and full of smiles. And to start off my theme of going with the flow, when I spot the sign for another park not far down the road, I make a quick decision to pull off and take a look at that too. It pays off, for not only is in a nice little harbour park, but it also has this view of the river upstream…which suddenly looks very familiar to me.

I take this as good luck for my week, but then come to think that maybe it has simply been given to me in exchange for my lunch spot, for the next location I was to visit was a featured restaurant and despite driving to where it was apparently located, I can’t be 100% it is the correct place and in any case, it’s closed.

And here I would have expected the ‘me’ of two months ago to be feeling a little devastated by this. But I don’t feel that at all. I simply shrug it off. I have set foot on the sand of Pyeongsari Park and if nothing else good happens today, I will still be content and then some.

Crossing the bridge onto Namhae, I veer off the main path, opting to take the smaller eastern road following the coast. I spot a boardwalk running between the road and beach and make my second unscheduled stop of the day.

This road is lined with cherry trees, and while out of season for beautiful spring blossoms, it is still a very pretty view. I allow myself 15 minutes to walk up and down the boardwalk, stretching my legs and peering down over the rail to watch the activity below.

Adults and children are combing along the rocky shoreline. From what I can tell, they are gathering some type of molluscs. Slightly further along, a row of gentleman are fishing from the beach. And this is something that I have noticed here in Korea, people gathering and harvesting food items from the wild.  I have regularly spotted people on my walks through the cities or on hikes in the mountains scrabbling through the leaves on the forest floor gathering acorns. Not a practice I see that often in the UK, maybe with the exception of blackberry picking, and it makes me happy to see people making use of the natural resources here.

The final kilometres to my accommodation take me past more interesting farming aspects both at sea and on land before bringing me to the American Village, a housing area consisting of buildings that are ‘American styled’ where my AirBnB for the week is located.

And I have to say, I couldn’t be more happy with my room if I tried.

I have a good feeling I am in for a relaxing week. 🙂